Band: Daniel Francis Doyle
When Daniel Francis Doyle plays live, the only instruments used are headset microphone, drum set, and a looped guitar (with the only exception I've seen being the occasional cover.) The first time I saw him I didn't realize this. He seems to be just dicking around on the guitar creating noise. Its generally interesting to listen to, but it doesn't really go anywhere until he goes behind the drum set and bangs into the song. Then it is ON. Even with the songs being as good as they are I wouldn't expect anybody to do this and still be able to capture your attention. Daniel manages to bring an intensity to these performances that a full band would have trouble matching. I remember one particular show at Strawberry Fields a few years back... Being an entire band inside one guy is likely to be very exhausting and if I remember right that room got a little hot with a lot of people in it. He somehow managed to power through that and brought an emotional level to those songs that I haven't seen from anybody else since. I would be very interested to see what happens in a live setting now that his records have changed so much.
Who Are Your Customers? has structured songs, but sticks mostly to guitar loops, drumming and singing. Two years later, History of Consideration arrived as a split with the now broken up Koji Kondo. This album stayed slightly on the harsher side, but also showed the first appearance of additional instrumentation and a softer side.
The songs below perfectly represent Dan’s new record We Bet Our Money on you. How Can You Work? shows the older guitar/drums/vocals style while Learning Things At School represents the newer multi-instrumental songs which adds bass and piano. There is a larger focus on the vocals than previous recordings which was unexpected. This album also thankfully has a rerecording of the song Your Cursive from History of Consideration. Not only does this version improve on the original, but it looks like History of Consideration has gone out of print twice since it was released. This was my favorite song he's done until hearing the new album's closer Always Calm. In this one song he bridges the more melodic styles he's been using recently while also being the most brutal thing I've heard him do.
Daniel Francis Doyle tours like crazy and the following months take him to many places. His tour kicks off March 31 at Red 7 in Austin and you can see the rest of his tour dates here. If you are able to attend, the live show is definitely not one to miss. Album:
--Reviewed by John Blogerty--
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Song: How Can You Work This text will be replaced by the flash music player.
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